Baling-press.



. PATENTED DEC. 17, 1907. F. B. GUMPSTON.

BALING PRESS.

APPLIOATION FILED APB.1,1907.

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No. 874,306. PATENTED DEG. 1'7, 1907. F. B. GUMPSTON.

BALING PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED APB.1,1907.

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v ATTORNEYS No. 874,306. PATENTED DEC. 17, 1907. F. B. OUMPSTON.

BALING PRESS APPLICATION FILED APB.1,1907.

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the feedmovement takes I Referring more pass througha fix .d

UNITED STATES P TENT OFFICE.

FREDERICK Br CUMPSTQN, OF BLOOMING GROVE, TEXAS.

BALI NG-PRESS.

Specification of Letters Patent. Kpplicatlon filed April 1. 1907. Serial No. 366,746.

Patented Dec. 17, 1907-.

To all whom it may concem:

Be'it known that I, FREDERICK BERNARD CUMPSTON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Blooming Grove, in the 6 county of Navarro and State of Texas, have mvented a new and Improved Baling-Press,

of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to presses such as cotton, straw or similar products. The object of the invention is to produce a press of this class which will feed itself automatically, and which, is provided with a 15 packing-cylinder for advancing the cotton or. the arrange-- straw into the baling chamber; ment being such that the feed takes automatically,

packing plunger is also automatic.

place 20 The invention consists inthe construction and combination .of parts to be more fully described .hereinafter and particularly set forth in the claims. v v y Reference is to be-had t'o theaccompanyforming a part of this specification, inwhich'similar characters of.refer-. ence indicate corresponding parts in all the Figure 1 is a side elevation of a balin'g 30 press constructed acchrding to my invention; Fig. 2 is-a plan; Fig. 3 1s a vertical central section through the upper portion of the. press,- certainparts being .shown in elevation; this .view is upon a. slightl enlarged 4 isa vertical section t ough the press, ta en at the baling chamber or pressmg chamber,

draulic press; Fi 5 is across section-taken.

through the pac,-'ngbo x along .whi ch'the 40 cotton is fed toward Fig. 6 is a detail showing a. ortionof the carriot in cross. section, an illustratiri the manner 1 of attaching ,controlling gers theretowhich determine the times at which place; this view is upon a scale enlarged with respect to Fig. 3; and-Fig,- ,7 is a vertical section taken throu h avalv which controlsthe. operation of t e packing eylindeng,

articularly to the parts, and especially to igs. .1..and 3, 1 represents the frame ofthe press,- which comprises a basej plate 2 tromwhich tie rods 3. ext end 11.p Wardly.: The .upperends of these tie rods 3 head 4, and are threaddr s e eiv n 5w .1 eg t the upso that the operation of the,

and passing through :the hythe baling chamber er side of the head as shown. Between the ase plate 2 and the heaid. 4;'htwo cross heads 6 are provided ,which sup ort'a balin ch amber or com ressing cham er 7 said c amber being of su form. The upper portion of the press-is dlS- posed above the fioor line 8. At a suitable point near the press I provide a feed hopper 9, and the up er portion of this hopper is connected wit the upper portion of the frame of the baling press by means of a stantlally square or rectangular chute or feed box 10, which inclines downwardly as indicated. Within this box there is located a main conveyor 11, which consists of a continuous belt or apron of canvas or similar material, the said apron being vided on its outer side with transverse the direction in which faces with respect to that they operate as the belt advances, so teeth on the upper run 13 chamber. belt a transverse partition or false bottom 14 is form run of the apron. .The ends oft pass around I respectively .at the lower and upper ends-of. the chute, as shown.

. Above the longitudinal axisf fof the feed chute 'I provide. an auxiliary feed belt or apron 17, and this. apron is also formedof canvas or similar material, and

similar in form to above; they pro'ect fronr' the .under the belt tower thejbaling press. belts or aprons. 1'3 and their lower extremities belt or apron 17 passes ar A and 20 arranged respectivelyjatf the ow T e e 17 is much shorter than'ft so that a spaceuis' leftjint the feed-c ute; P h g de ce. a pair of tracks 22 of channel ,fo'r'm,"

i s ats 12. These slats areinclined on their rear d in the chute, which sup'pprts this v 's apron guide. pulleys 15' and 16 located ndic ed e. r 1.9;:

e ain a ron-"ia lupir t P r ho In-this s'p'a'ceT provide a" 21, This device comprises of the belt, tend- I ing tofeed the cotton towardthe baling Below. the upper run 13 of the provided;

'with transverse slats 18,-'whic1 1 ,.'slats a e; the slats 1121- assente 17 genia -gs toward are attachedto the inner sidesiof the; de

walls of the of these tracks are fOI'iIllQd jWlllht curves '23; the lower portions are straight and provided at their rear or lowerextremi-f feed chute, Theu'pperpo" 10 ties a ff 'e ps i 'va y Whibh are attached' by' hinge connectio p er'edges 'otthechann'l 7 w 4' e e -swarmiand these rollers are adapted to run in the y as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 3.

channels 22 and over the guide bars 26 in a manner which will be. described more fully hereinafter. The bar 27 is provided with a plurality of shoes or pushers 29, which consist simply of elongated plates having teeth 30 formed on the lower sides thereof as shown in Fig. 3. The pusher bar 27 is connected by a pair of connecting rods or pitmen 31 with cranks 32, res ectively, and these cranks'are rigidly attac ed to a shaft 33, the said shaft beingmounted in a hori zontal position at the edge of the feed hopper, as indicated. This shaft 33 is further provided with a belt pulley 34 over which runs a belt 35 by means of which the shaft is continuously rotated when the press is in operation. The rotation of the shaft is in a left-hand direction, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 3. As the shaft 33 rotates,'the pitmen 31 are pulled backward and forward, and the pusher rod 27, upon the advancing stroke, is guided by the channels 22. These channels are extended on their lower sides beyond the gates 24, so that as the shoes 29 reach the limit of their forward movement, they pass through the gates; then, as the shoes are drawn up by the return of the crank, the rollers 28 run up on the gates and the guide bars 26. When the pusher rod reaches the upper limit of its movement, the rollers 28 pass down into the channels agaip, n this way the shoes 29 operate upon the cotton WhlGll is fed upon the upper portion of the conveyer belt 13, and advances the cotton downwardly, as will be readily understood. In this way the cotton is packed into the space between the main conveyer or apron 13 and the auxiliary apron 17. Inside ofthe auxiliary apron 17 a backing 36 is provided, which presents a lower floor 37 lying near the lower run of the apron, and an upper floor 38 which lies near the upper run.

I provide means for driving the conveyer belts 13 and 17. For this purpose, at a suitable point onthe feed chute I rovide 'stanchions 39 in which a countersha 40 is rotatabl mounted. This countersh'aft is provide at one end with "belt pulleys 41 and 42. Over the former runs a twisted belt 43, which drives the roller 16 through the medium of a belt pulls 44, said belt pulley be' mounted upon t e extended'shaft 45 of t a pulley, as indicated most clearly in Fig. 2. A. belt 46 connects the pulley 42 with a pulley 47 mounted upon the shaft 48 which extends from the roller 20. From this arrangement it willbe evident that when the shaft 40 is driven, the adjacent sides of the aprons will be advanced downwardly toward the packing chamber.

On the shaft 40 at a suitable point, I provide a gear wheel 49, and I provide means for driving this gear wheel intermittently. For this purpose, near the lower portion of the feed chute 10 I provide a standard 50, to the upper extremity whereof. there is hinged a trip lever 51. The upper end of this lever is free and rests upon the upper end of the apron 17 at the roller 20, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 3. Opposite the gearwheel 49 the trip lever 51 is provided with a gear wheel 52 which is adapted to mesh with the gear wheel 49 at certain times; that is, when the lever is not being tripped upwardly. The manner in which the lever is tripped will be described more fully hereinafter.

The gear wheel 52 is rigidly carried upon a shaft 53 which extends transversely above the feed chute; the opposite end of the shaft is journaled in a bracket 54 hinged at 54, as indicated in Fig. 3, which permits of the free end of the shaft being raised or lowered through the medium of the trip lever.

At a suitable'point on the shaft 53 a belt pulley 55. is provided, and this belt pulley is adapted to be driven continuously b a belt belt pulley 57, which is rigidly carried by the shaft 33, as illustrated particularly in Figs. 2 and 3.

On the auxiliary belt at the upper end thereof, as illustrated in. Fig. 3, I provide a transverse trip bar 58. When this bar is passing over the roller, as shown in the figure, it raises the trip lever 51 so as to move the gear 52 out of engagement with the gear 49. At the lower end of the auxiliary belt or apron, also as illustrated in Fig. 3, I provide a similar transverse trip bar 59. These trip bars 58 and 59 are provided with 'a plurality of fingers GOrespectively, and these fingers are formed of links 61 which are pivotally attached together and pivotally hung from the transverse bars. The arrangement is such that when either of the bars 58 dr 59 occupies the position of the bar 59, as illustrated in Fig. 3, the fingers 60 hang downwardly at the lower end of the space between the aprons. At this time the upper trip bar occupies the position of the bar 58, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the trip lever is held raised. From this arrangement it should be understood that when th shoes 29 are operating to feed the cotton into the space between the aprons, the aprons are stationary; the aprons remain stationary until the lower portion of the feed chute is filled with cotton, and when this occurs, there will be a pressure upon the fingers 60 at thelower end of the chute.

As illustrated in Fig. 6, the back edges of the links 6]. have abutting shoulders 62 so that the lingers operate as rigid fingers when pressed from the upper side.

The uppermost of the links 61 is provided with a similar shoulder 63 which seats against the under side of the transverse trip bar, as illustrated. From this arrangement, as soon as a sufficient quantity of cotton has been brought into the chute to fill the baling ress, the fingers which are disposed at the ower end of the chute will'operate to advance the auxiliary apron a short distance; that is, a sufficient distance to enable the trip lever 51 to descend at its free end. When it descends, as described, the gear wheel 52 is put in mesh with the gear 49, and the feeding movement of the aprons follows immediately; the transmission movement being 'efiected from the shaft 33 through the intermediate mechanism and belts. The fingers 60 do not offer any obstruction at the upper end of the auxiliary apron, as they lie close a ainst the upper side thereof, in the manner i lustrated at 58 in Fig. 3.

On the upper side of the head 4 I provide a packing cylinder 64 which is disposed centrally above the baling chamber 7, and it is provided with a plunger 65, the rod 66 whereof extends down through the head and is provided with a packer head 67.

I provide automatic mechanism for advancing the packing plunger 65 when the cotton has been advanced from the chute into the baling chamber. For this purpose, I provide a valve 68 to which a steam pipe 69 conducts live steam, and from the op posite side of the valve an exhaust pipe 70 leads; this valve is simply a rotary valve or cook, and on the upper side thereof, located midway between the points of attachment of the pipes 68 and 69, I provide an admission pipe 71 which leads to the upper end of the cylinder 64.

On the under side of the valve 68 a similar steam pipe 72 leads to the lower end of the packing cylinder 64. This valve is illustrated in Fig. 7; its plug 73 is provided at one side with a pinion or gear wheel 74, and this pinion is adapted to be rotated by a segment 75 rigidly attached to a lever 76, said lever being pivoted at the point 77, as will be readily understood. This valve 68 is attached adjacent to the standard 50 which has been referred to above. To the lever 76 a helical spring 78 is attached, the opposite end of the spring being attached to the standard 50 so that this spring tends to hold the lever 76 in the position in which it is shown in Fig. 7.

The plug 73 is provided with two ports 79 a triangular block 84 is provided.

and 80, so that the valve constitutes a fourway-valve or cock. When the lever 76 is in the position shown in Fig. 7, the port 79 connects the steam pi e 69 with the inlet, pipe 72, so that steam isa mitted to the lower end of the packer cylinder 64. In this osition of the plug, the port 80 connects the pipe 71 with the exhaust pipe 70. With this ar rangement the packer plunger will be held in an elevated position as illustrated in Fig. 3.

At suitable points on the auxiliary apron 17 I provide teeth 81 which project outwardly from the outer side of the belt or apron. The lever 76 projects into the path of these teeth so that as they come along on the upper side of the belt or a )ron, they will swing the lever toward the rig t and into the position in which it is illustrated in Fig. 1;

that is, they will give the lever an eighth of a turn. On account of the segment 75 and the pinion 74 this movement is multiplied, so that the plug is given a quarter-turn, which is sufiicient to change the port arrangement in themanner suggested above. When the lever76 is moved toward the right by either of the teeth 81, it is locked in this position by a locking lever 82 which is pivoted at 83 to the standard 50. The ri ht-hand end of this lever is disposed near t e side face of the lever 76 when the lever is moved to its extreme right position, and on the face of the levergfi T is block is ada ted to move into position before the end of t e lever 82, as illustrated in Fig. 1, so that when the lever 76 is released from the tooth 81, the sprin 78 will hold the lever 76against the locking ever 82. The locking lever 82 is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 1 by means of a spring 85 which is attached near the right-hand end of the locking lever, the opposite end of the spring being attached to the lower portion of the standard 50. The teeth 81' are so placed upon the apron 17 that they will operate the lever 76 before either of the transverse trip bars 58 or 59 arrives at the upper position at the upper end of the belt. In this connection it should be understood that the movement of the aprons 13 and 17 is intermittent; or, whenever either of the trip bars 58 or 59 passes under the trip lever 51, the driving mechanism is disengaged. The movement of the feeding aprons is started again by the and 92 whichare fupper side of the rack 98 as-shownin 9 adapted .tvhich run upon a track,;the

.ieAttachedth the 67 of the plunger I provide'a dog rod 86', whichis head 4, as Tlm; d lies. adjaoent'to the left-handend of gird ed to the rod 86- lever 82 andgatjtsupper end-it is rovified withala e locking limit of its movement. 1 In this way, when thelonger arrivesat the end of the stroke,

the ever 76 becomes unlocked and thesp 85 immediately throwsit into the which it is shown in 7. This reverses the position of the valve, opens the pi raised agam to the position in which itf i's shown in At the underside ofthe base plate 2 I ;v1de ahgdraulic cylinder 88 in which there'is i mounts a vertically} moving plunger 89: The upper end of thisf'plunger 89 isfpro'vided with a cap 90 which 'is'of square to'fit the interior of thebaling press, s'sindicated 1n 4. Referring, ,now, tothia it will be seen that the twooppoflite sides of the bali'ng chamber are r vided" doors 91 The bale 94 formed". by the upward pressure; of the pl reap 90 while the doors 91 and 92 are close ;r the uppersideof the bale being lpressed against a r --:='n -bloclr 95v,

b ock has-substanti ythe" orln shown b in Fig. 2; it is "mounted upon wheels 96 said track bein formed of parallel rails 97 o in m at eac side of the press. The up r face of the block 95' lies adjacent to the ower face of the head 4, there being just-a sirflicient' clearance to allow the block to in or out of position above the billing chamber."

rails 97. In order to su port thislbracket 101 and the adjacenten s of the rails, the* bracket is connected with 4 by illiaigonal braces 102 asshown-N In order to the rack 98 in engagement; the pinion, I provide a 'rollen103against which the ln order to limit the outward movement of the block 95, its outer end is. rovided with a pivoted pawl 104, the point w is adapt- .ed to engage-a tooth or projection 105 on the' 1' side ofone of the railsr97,

t should nowbe understood that after the baling chamber 7 has been packed withjcotclockterilly mjee I -87-w eh-v is' adapted to'engage' the lever'as the plunger 65. arrives at the lower 'tion in 7.1 2 exhaust, admitsste'am to the un er-sidesj .of t he plunger 65,.so thatflthe plunger-is e se-,1 me mto swlngidawfnwardly a the pre ton lby the the will be rotated'soas to advance-the block 95 into position above the chamber,

whereupon the operating fluid is admitted to orcle the plunger, 89

the cylinder 88 so as to upwardly and press the cap 90 with great force against the block 95. Of course, 'as the I u n the block 95, itrises h ack up against the fixed head 4 so that the strain of the compression 75 pressure comes slightlyso as to comes upon the tie rods 3.- holder toincreasefthe rigilfiity-of the base plate 2fon the hydraulic cy der 88, thelower endfofthecylinder is connected with the fedgesof the plate by diagonal braces 1 06, as shown in Figs.land4. The mode of operation 1- will now be reca itulated: The cotton from {the hop r 9 is ed by hand into the" upper oi the press end of t e feed chute 10, and thereit comes under theinfluence of the shoes 29 which are driven byfithe cranks 32. e In this way the cotton is advanced into the lower portion of a the chute between the a rons 13 and 1-2.

.Whenthe'fged'chute isiu the pressureof the cottonupon. the fingers-60 at the lower end of the apron 17, moves thisapron so asto allow'the trilever 51- to descend at its about an engagement free end. 4 ringls between the gear w eels '52 and 49, and a feed movement of the a 'rons immediately results. The cotton which is between the the lower portion of the chute is,

means-,.; advanced into the baling aprons is about-to cease, t e automatic valve 68 is thrown so as to admit steam to the ugper endofthe packing-cylinder 64.

plunger 65 then moves downwardly and 0P c feedin .movement of the crates automatically to unlock the lever 76, V l

which then returns to its normal position and ing cyl-inder-x :The cotton now havin been '105 edmits steam to .the lower end of the pack packed the healing chamber, the b ock 95 v is advanced into the space above the baling chamber, and the plunger '89 of the press moves upwardly so-as t0 form a bale against and 92 are opened. to

Having thus-described my invention, I

' blockb Af er the baleisformed, it is pushe out-at the side after the doors 91 claim as new and'desireto secure by Letters Patent chute means for packingcotton in the lower portion of said feed chute adjacent to said 1. In abaling press of the'class dscribd, a a 1 in co bination, a baling chamber, a feed v aling chamber, and means for automatic- 1' allyadvancing said cotton into said balin chamber when said feed chute becomes fu V.

2, In aflbaling ress, in combination, a baling chamber, a eed chute disposed adjacent thereto, movable aprons mounted in saidchute, means for packing cotton into the and means for packing cotton into said feed Wchute and against said fingers whereby said fingers afford means for startin said a ron when said feed chute is substantially fu 4. In a baling press, in combination, a baling chamber, a feed chute disposed adjacent thereto, feeding mechanism disposed within said feed chute and comprising a continuous apron, a movable member normally resting upon said apron, meanscarried by said movable member for driving said apron, and a member carried by said apron and adapted to move said movable member to disen age said driving means. 7

5 n a baling press, in combination, a baling chamber, a feed chute adapted to feed to said cham er, an apron mounted in said feed chute and adapted to advance cotton into said chamber, driving mechanism for said apron, members carried by said apron and extending across said chute, means for packing cotton against said members whereby said members may move said apron when said chute is full of cotton, and means for automatically connecting and disconnecting said driving means.

..6; In a baling ress, in combination, a baling chamber, a fled chute adapted to deliver thereto, a pair of aprons mounted in said chute, means for packing cotton into the space between said aprons and within said chute, fingers carried by one of said aprons and affording means for moving that apron by the ressure of the cotton when said chute is fil ed, and automatic means for advancing said aprons, actuated by the pressure of the cotton on said fingers.

7. In a baling ress, in combination, a baling chamber, a eed chute adapted to deliver thereto, a main feeding a ron mounted in said chute, an auxiliary ceding apron mounted above said main apron, means for pushing cotton into the space between said [aprons and within said chute, means for giving said aprons an intermittent advancing meansautoinatically when said chute is substantially full of cotton.

' baling chamber, a packing cylinder arranged thereabove, a chute, means for feeding cotton into-said chute, automatic means for emptying the contents of said chute into said chamber when said chute is full, and autoinder.

9. In a baling press, in combination, a baling chamber,- a feed chute deliverin thereto, feeding mechanism within sai chute including an endless apron, driving mechanism for said apron, a trip lever supporting said mechanism, normally resting on said apron and affording means for connect-ing or disconnecting said driving mechanism, and a member carried by said apron and adapted to displace said trip lever to disengage said driving mechanism.

' 10. In a baling press, in combination, a baling chamber, a packing cylinder for forcing cotton into said chamber, an apron adapted to advance cotton into position over said baling chamber, automatic means for giving said apron an intermittent feed movement, and means for controlling said packing cylinder from said apron.

11. In a baling press, in combination, a baling chamber, a feed chute, an endless feed apron Within said chute, rollers about which said apron passes, jointed fingers attached to said apron adapted to depend Within said chute and obstruct the same, means for packing cotton into said chute, trip bars carried by said apron, a trip lever normally resting against said apron and adapted to be displaced by said trip bars, and mechanism controlled by said trip lever for periodically advancing said apron, the pressure of the cotton on said fingers affording means for moving said apron to actuate said trip lever.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

FREDERICK B. CUMPSTON,

Witnesses:

W.- P. METGALF, JNO. A. FORD.

8. In a bahng press, in combination, a

matic means for operating said packing cylmovement, and means for operating said last a 

